


Just Between You And Me

by plikki



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M, I NEEDED THIS, Identity Reveal, LadyNoir - Freeform, One Shot, Post Chat Blanc, Secrets
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-10
Updated: 2019-11-10
Packaged: 2021-01-26 22:10:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,566
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21381409
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/plikki/pseuds/plikki
Summary: Chat Noir notices that Ladybug is acting strangely around him. How will he react when she tells him what is troubling her?
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 35
Kudos: 550
Collections: Miraculous





	Just Between You And Me

**Author's Note:**

> Chat Blanc broke me. That's no news I guess, since I know many people feel like this. I expected it to be bad, but it was... so much more. I'm not going into details. (Yes, Gabriel is a monster). But it left me feeling absolutely hopeless. So I had to write something for myself. Because those happy, easy reveals seemed even more unreal all of a sudden. But what else is there to do but keep writing, hoping for a happy ending?  
Well, if it's not clear by now, there are spoilers here. So if you haven't watched the episode, don't read. If you do, enjoy!

At first, he didn't notice. Or tried not to make much of it. After all, his lady had her days when she acted strangely. She had her reasons, he didn't want to pry. 

But sometimes it was too hard to make himself believe it was nothing out of the ordinary. She'd get too close, not accidentally, but clearly on purpose. Not to tease him or anything. It was as if she was craving that closeness, maybe not in the same way he did, but it was enough to make her act on it. It was something she hadn't done before. Then, sometimes, she'd look at him with this thoughtful expression. As if trying to make sense of him or figure out the answer to a really tough riddle. But the most baffling thing of all was how when he did something, unintentionally or just to tease her, to remind her about his feelings for her. She no longer got angry or irritated with him. She instead got that faraway look in her eyes and when she returned her attention to him, there was this softness there that he couldn't understand. And she'd remind him that she loved someone else, of course. But she did it gently. And sometimes, it was almost like he could sense some regret there, something she tried hard to hide but he saw through it. 

He didn't know what had brought on these changes. He couldn't pinpoint an exact moment in time when she started acting differently. He also couldn't remember anything that could have caused it. 

But it was clear that there was something. He felt the tension in her. Something was troubling her and he didn't like that. He was her friend, he wanted to help her. She already shouldered enough on her own. She should be able to share her troubles with him, allow him to comfort her. 

So the next time she rested her head on his shoulder, a sigh of content barely leaving her lips but he still heard it, he mustered up enough courage and asked her.

"M'lady, something is troubling you. I know you're trying to hide it from me. But I can still feel it."

She opened her mouth to protest. But he didn't give her a chance to speak. 

"Hear me out. You're my partner and my best friend. I feel useless when I see you like this and you don't give me a chance to help you. It may be too personal, but at least try to explain it to me. It may help you feel better. And if it's something to do with me, I need to know. If I did something wrong or... I don't know, hurt you in any away, please, let me know."

There was a pause and then she lifted her head and turned to look at him. The tears in her eyes startled him. It was really serious, he realised. Or was it something he'd done and she felt bad telling him about it?

"Chat... I...," she started but then had to stop to take a breath. Emotions were getting the better of her. He waited patiently but his heart was aching for her. 

"I can't tell you," she whispered, a tear rolling down her cheek.

"Why? Is it something I did?" He had to know. He just had to. If he'd hurt her without realising it, he'd try to make it better. 

"You're not supposed to know. I went to such great lengths to make things right. To rewrite the past. You wouldn't understand... I'm ok. Don't worry about me." 

But it was clear that she wasn't ok. The tears told him so. Her behaviour told him so. It was so clear. And now that he knew that she was hiding something from him on purpose. How could he leave her be?

"M'lady, please. Whatever it is, I can take it. You know you can trust me, right? Did I ever do anything to make you doubt that? Whatever you tell me, it'll be just between you and me." 

Just then a sob shook her body and she hid her face and tears with her hands. He didn't want to make her uncomfortable but he also couldn't leave her like that. His arm snaked around her and brought her closer to him. At least he could give her that. Let her know that she wasn't alone. He let her cry in peace for a while. She would talk when she wanted to. 

"It was so bad, Chat. So horrible. Everything destroyed, everyone dead," he heard her whisper after a few minutes. "I'd do anything to avoid it happening again."

"Who caused that?" he asked hesitantly, already dreading the answer. It couldn't be...

"It was you, Chat. You were... Chat Blanc."

His mind was racing, trying to make sense of this. He'd been a villain? What could possibly make him take Hawk Moth's side? There was no such thing! Or make him turn against his lady. Unbelievable! But then again he couldn't imagine what could hurt him so much, make him suffer so much that he'd become a victim to an akuma. But if Ladybug said so, it must be true. 

"Do you know why?" he asked. But she was shaking her head.

"I don't know what exactly happened. One moment it was a normal day, the next Bunnix was there, taking me to the future. She left me fighting you, trying to free the akuma, while she went looking for the cause of it all. You... you didn't tell me much. You weren't yourself, which was to be expected. You were under the influence of an akuma after all. But think about it. You were there, alone, among the ruins of your world, everyone dead. You'd gone crazy, sitting there, thinking about what you'd done."

He felt chills down his spine. This was horrible. What she was describing sounded terrifying. He couldn't imagine a worse faith than that. Left alone in the world. Especially because he'd done something to cause it. He'd killed his loved ones, really? How could he do that and stay sane?

"You told me it was us... " Her words made him look at her. She was looking at him and she looked so lost, so sad. What did this mean? "That our love caused this to happen," she finished, blinking back tears. 

He was stunned. Their love? Their? Not his love. Their love.

"We... we were together?" he heard himself ask out loud. 

"Apparently," she said, looking away. "I don't know how that happened," she muttered, more to herself than him. 

"But why would this be bad? What did us being together have to do with me turning into a villain?" He couldn't believe it. It made no sense. If they were together, in love, it would be a good thing, right?

"I don't know," Ladybug answered, sounding exasperated. "I know I shouldn't try to figure it out. It's better to accept it and move on. But I can't. I keep dreaming about it. I'm going insane thinking of all the possible scenarios. You can't imagine how painful it was to hear that we did this to the world. And... you wanted my Miraculous to fix it. So now I'm either having nightmares in which you take it. Or the world really ends. Or... " she stopped, tears choking her again. "What hurts the most is when I dream of us being together. Being in love. Happy. And I just can't fathom what happened. Between us being together and you turning into a villain."

He totally understood now. It was enough to make anyone go crazy. No wonder she'd been acting strangely. 

"How..." he said and stopped. He wasn't sure how to ask.

"Don't ask me. I don't know how we ended up together," she answered, not looking at him. She'd known what he wanted to ask. 

He could take anything. Any hint. Although, was this a good idea? She'd said so herself. It was better to move on. If them being together had caused that, it was better to leave it alone. 

"You called me..." she started then paused and looked at him. He didn't know what she saw on his face but she swallowed, tears filling her eyes again. "Oh, to hell with it. I can't take it anymore. I might as well tell you. You called me Marinette."

Marinette. Wow. There was only one thing this could mean. She was... Marinette. So they'd known each other's identities?

"And me?" he whispered.

"No. I don't know who you are. It would have been erased if I knew," she said.

He didn't know what to think. On the one hand, it all made sense. Marinette being Ladybug. Ladybug being Marinette. He'd always loved Ladybug, but Marinette was special to him in a way he couldn't explain. He didn't know much about friendship and how you were supposed to feel about a friend. But he'd always felt something special about her. Something he couldn't quite place. Now he knew why. 

"Chat?" he heard her ask and realised he'd tightened his hold on her. Unconsciously. The moment he'd realised she'd always had his heart. As Ladybug and as Marinette. And he still hadn't said a thing about this. Although, since she knew they'd been together, she already knew that he loved her. 

"This is so amazing," he wondered out loud. "And not surprising at all."

"Really?" she asked, confusion in her voice. Of course, she didn't know what he already knew. About them being friends without the masks too. 

"Of course," he said, kissing the top of her head. "But I don't see how me being with you could cause a problem."

The moment he said it he saw his father in his mind. No. Why would he be against that?

"My father loves controlling my life. I can totally imagine him feeling threatened if I fell in love with a girl and she returned my feelings. He'd have no control over that after all. But you... I've always had a feeling he likes you."

"He likes me?" She asked incredulous. Right. She didn't know who he was talking about, of course she couldn't understand. 

"Yeah. I think he does. So there wouldn't be a reason for him to be against us being together, right? Unless..." Another unbidden image popped inside his head. 

"Unless?" she repeated, waiting. And he'd tell her. There wasn't anything to hide.

"Unless it had anything to do with Kagami," he whispered. He knew she'd figure it out now. She'd know. But she'd loved him, right? She'd known and she'd loved him. Wait, when did this happen?

He saw her pull back slightly, looking up at him in confusion. Making sense of his words. Understanding. 

"Adrien?" she said finally. 

He knew he needed to give her time to come to terms with this new information. But curiosity was an insistent thing. It wouldn't leave him alone once he'd thought of that.

"Right. But how could it be? I'm pretty certain you told me you didn't like me like that?" he said, knowing it was wrong to tease her. But he'd almost forgotten why they were having this conversation. He couldn't resist asking now.

He saw the telltale blush on her cheeks. Wow. Could this mean what he thought it meant?

"M'lady?" he asked in a singsong voice. "Don't tell me you actually liked me all along. Was I the mysterious guy you turned me down for again and again, hm?" 

He heard her squeal but she was resolutely looking down. And not answering. So he slid a finger under her chin, tilting it up. Her eyes were so big. And she looked so scared all of a sudden.

"You know. This shouldn't be so hard when we know for a fact that we were together. In an alternate future, yes. But still. Don't you agree?" He said softly. It made him feel so good, imagining this. 

"We could still do it," he thought out loud. "Maybe we did something wrong, but we don't know what it was. Maybe it had nothing to do with us. If we love each other, that's all that matters."

"You didn't see it, though. What you'd done. It was... " she said and shuddered. 

"I can only imagine. But even as a villain I wanted it back, right? So it wasn't something between us, I'm sure."

"How will it work though?" She asked and then blushed again, when she realised that she'd practically agreed that they should give it a try. God, he wanted to kiss her so much at that moment.

"By keeping it a secret. Just like everything else. It will be just between you and me. If no one else knows, no one else could cause trouble, right? I really think it had something to do with other people finding out. Not about us. Maybe about us being superheroes. Maybe we weren't careful enough. I don't know. But we'd do it differently now. That is, if you want to."

He paused to look at her. He knew she loved him. She hadn't denied it. Could this be enough for him? To just know it and for things to remain the same as before. If this was what she wanted, he'd do it. It was still better than being rejected by her again and again. It would be hard, but he'd do as she wished. 

"If you're too scared..." he said, his finger caressing her cheek now. "Nothing has to change," he added, but his eyes moved to her lips. In another universe, he'd kissed them again and again and again. He wanted this with all his heart. But if it was too dangerous, was it worth the risk?

He saw the struggle she was going through as well. Confusion, panic, fear all took their turns on her face. If so much was at stake, was it too selfish to want this for themselves? 

"No," she whispered suddenly and he was about to pull back, give her more space if she was sure it couldn't happen. But then she surprised him by leaning in, stopping with her lips almost on his to say "This is not enough."

And she was kissing him. He pulled her even closer and felt her arms wrap around him. There was no way this was wrong, was his last thought before he gave in to the sensation of kissing her. He'd waited so long for this. And it felt absolutely amazing. It was a declaration of their love. It was also a promise of more to come. Nothing else mattered at that moment.

"So, are you going to tell me what you meant about your father and Kagami?" She asked when they came up for air. Oh God, that. He thought about explaining about how his father probably considered Kagami a better match for him. How he'd always encouraged their friendship. How torn he'd felt because of Kagami's feelings for him. And how wrong it had felt when he'd almost kissed her. It wouldn't be a nice conversation. But it was still nothing compared to that nightmarish future she'd told him about. They'd to their best to avoid that and they should start by being honest with each other. And hope their love would be enough this time. 


End file.
